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Chee's
trial begins on 8 Jan
DPA
5 Jan 2007
The
trial of Singapore's most vocal opposition leader for trying to
leave the country without permission was postponed today for the
second day in a row.
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)
chief Chee Soon Juan told Judge Aedit Abdullah that his new
lawyer is tied up in cases this week.
Abdullah rescheduled
the trial until Monday. It had been rescheduled yesterday until
today after Chee said he and Dodwell had only been able to
communicate via e-mail and were unable to go through the
specifics of the trial.
Chee, 44, is charged with
attempting to leave the city-state last April without the
official approval he needs as a bankrupt. He was stopped at
Changi Airport trying to board a flight bound for Istanbul,
Turkey, where he planned to attend the World Movement for
Democracy meeting.
He was declared a bankrupt last year
for failing to pay S$500,000 (US$331,000) in damages to Senior
Minister Goh Chok Tong and Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan
Yew for defaming them during the 2001 general election.
Chee,
who emerged from jail two weeks ago, faces a fine of S$5,000
(US$3,311), jail for up to one year, or both if convicted in the
current case.
Chee Siok Chin, his sister, said he was
"feeling well" after being treated in the prison ward
of Changi General Hospital during his recent confinement.
He
had opted to go to jail instead of paying a S$5,000 (US$3,265)
fine after he was convicted in November for speaking in public
without a permit last April in the run-up to the general
election.
After bouts of vomiting in prison and stomach
pains, the SDP said he was moved to the hospital. Altogether, he
was confined for more than three weeks.
It was the fifth
time in seven years that Chee went to jail instead of paying a
fine.
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
have criticised the city-state for strictly limiting speech to
muzzle its critics.
Dr Chee's trial will begin on 8
Jan 06, Monday, at 9:30 am.
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